Peppermint Hot Chocolate
by WarriorKittyWrites
Summary: For Dillon, the holiday season wasn't necessarily a special time. It just felt like any passing season to him, so he didn't get the appeal. Who knows, though? Perhaps getting pulled into Isabelle's holiday plans will change his perspective.


**Heyo everyone! **

**This is in fact Warrior Kitty, previously known as warriorcatgirl375. I have decided to make a new account which is where I will be posting my new fics from here on out! **

**Speaking of, welcome to my new Christmas one! This story idea was one that I've had for a few years now and I'm finally starting to work on it! I'm really excited to get this story off the ground, so I hope you guys enjoy it! **

* * *

_**~ Peppermint Hot Chocolate ~**_

Chapter 1: Snow

A gentle, chilling breeze swept all through the Smash lands, taking the powdery flakes of snow that drift from the clouds with it.

It was that time of year again. The holiday season was almost approaching Smashville, bringing along with it its' slew of winter weather. The falling snowflakes blanketed the area in glistening sheets.

The bustling town was preparing for the joyous occasion. Bright lights decorated the street signs and buildings while the citizens moved about, doing what they must to ready themselves for the holidays.

Going outside of town, a little further from the famous Smash Mansion, the Assist Hotel stood tall amongst the snow-covered land. On the entry road just outside, shovels scraped against pavement while a handful of the Assist Trophies worked dutifully to clear the path from snow.

Among those Assists, Dillon scooped up a good mound and tossed it away. The armadillo let out a huff that clouded around his muzzle and leaned against his shovel to catch a quick breath. Tipping his hat up, he looked toward the soft gray sky while the flakes continued to rain down. A biting gust of wind blew right past the group and prompted a shiver to course through his body.

Armadillos were definitely not suited for this kind of snowy weather. Tugging at his futile vest and blue bandana, Dillon wondered why he never invested in a thicker jacket. Or a scarf, at least.

"I don't know how Master Hand expects us the shovel all this snow!" Resetti's grumbly voice caught his attention and Dillon directed his eyes to see the mole kick at the powdery substance with a scowl. "The stuff just keeps coming down. It's doing nothing but piling up all over again!"

"The weather has been rather unpredictable lately," Lyn added in from her position, glancing up at the sky. "But Master Hand did inform us that we only need to clear enough so that we can actually walk through it. It shouldn't be too long until we're finished."

"But at this rate, we won't be you all keep chatting away!" Waluigi shouted out from further away.

The lanky Wario Bro simply stood next to his untouched shovel with a thermos of hot coffee in his hand. It was at that moment that Knuckles walked up and joined Lyn and Resetti, leering at him.

"And why exactly aren't you helping us like you were told to do?" The red echidna challenged.

Waluigi only shrugged and sipped his thermos. "I like watchin' people do the work that I don't wanna do. Now hurry it up or else we'll be out here all day!"

A huge clump of snow came shooting past the group of Assists and struck Waluigi without warning, knocking right off his feet and onto the ground. Surprised, the three turned in the direction of the projectile to see Shadow standing off a little ways away with his shovel in hand. The dark hedgehog wore a rather small but triumphant smirk on his muzzle while bits of snow dripped from his shovel.

At this, Knuckles let out an amused snort and looked back to Waluigi, who was picking himself off the ground. "Nice shot, Shadow."

"Alright, that's quite enough," Lyn spoke up, shaking off her own amusement. "We really should be getting back to work."

A silent agreement passed between the small group and they all dispersed to continue shoveling the snow. Dillon had quietly watched the exchange with interest. From what he observed, it was always around this time of year that the Assists and the Smashers seemed more… lively? Chipper?

Would those be the right words to describe the atmosphere that comes with the colder seasons?

To be honest, Dillon didn't quite know for sure. The boost of morale that swept through Smashville never really seemed to embrace him like it did to the others. Heck, even Shadow appeared to be more relaxed than usual, judging by his little stunt earlier and how he currently fell into casual conversation with Lyn and Knuckles while they shoveled snow.

Dillon blinked with intrigue at this notion. How strange…

After some time, the group decided to call it a day and headed inside to warm back up. Once in the Hotel's garage to do away with the shovels, Dillon jumped when a familiar, fiery hair-like hand shoved a mug of some sort of hot beverage in his face.

"Figured you guys would be freezing your tails off out there," Midna, the source of the hand-hair, grinned down at him.

Dillon was quick to regain himself and took the offered mug with a nod of thanks, and gave it a curious sniff. The smell confirmed it to be warm coffee. The armadillo graciously took a sip of his beverage as the twilight imp went on to offer a mug to Shadow and the three friends relaxed in each other's familiar presence.

"Yeah, I saw how much the snow kept falling," Midna continued after taking a swig from her own mug of hot chocolate. "Kinda defeats the purpose of Master Hand having you guys go out there to shovel out a path."

"He did say it had to be enough so that it could be walkable," Dillon pointed.

"Which I don't see how anyone would want to go anywhere in this kind of weather…" Shadow mumbled.

Hearing the dark hedgehog's statement, a thought sprung to the front of Midna's memory. "Actually that reminds me. You guys should probably know that-"

A series of crashes followed by a yelp halted the conversation, prompting the three Assists to turn toward the far opposite end of the garage. Alert and interest peaked, they made their way to the source of the sound to find a familiar helmet-toting koopa trapped underneath two wooden snow sleds.

Hammer Bro grunted as he tried to squirm his way from his trap until he noticed Dillon, Shadow, and Midna looking down at him, the former two holding inquisitive shines in their eyes. A sheepish smile crept onto his beak and he gave them a small wave.

"Hey guys," He greeted. "I could...probably use a hand."

Dillon was first to come forward and haul the sleds off of the koopa while Shadow pulled him up to his feet.

"Might I ask what you're even doing trying to get the sleds down?" The dark hedgehog questioned with a raised brow.

"Um, you see," Hammer Bro answered, brushing dirt off from his shell before facing his friends. "You guys remember back when Isabelle used to be here and I would help her prepare for the holidays?"

Midna seemed to have already known what he was going to explain as she remained unfazed while sipping at her mug, leaving only Dillon and Shadow to continue to give their confused attention.

"Well, since she's a Smasher now, she offered Riki and I to come over and help her to prepare at the Mansion."

As if summoned, small pattering footsteps entered the area and Riki revealed himself, scampering through the various items of the garage while holding a box with his ears.

"Riki excited to celebrate Smashpon holiday!" The Nopon said to announce his arrival. He set the box down next to the small group with a cloud of dust rising up from where it touched the ground. "Riki find as many Hammer Bro's ornaments as Riki could!"

"Thanks, Riki!" Hammer Bro said to him with a smile, pulling the box toward himself and refacing the three. "Yeah, she was able to get Master Hand's permission to allow us to stay at the Mansion up until Christmas and we're aloud to bring along anyone else if we'd like. I already asked Midna if she wanted to come, but she declined."

Midna gave an apologetic shrug. "Sorry Hammer, but I'm actually not really as invested in the holiday as the others."

"It's no issue! How about you guys, Shadow? Dillon?"

"I'm going to have to decline." Shadow answered, crossing his arms and his gaze drifting toward the ground. "I'm...not really one for grand preparations or celebrations for the holidays…"

That was when the koopa's big bright eyes trained on Dillon, awaiting his answer to the request. A sudden surge of unease swept over the armadillo. Normally he wouldn't mind joining Hammer Bro and his usual activities, especially if those activities were something new to him that his friend wanted to introduce him to. Well...this would be a new activity for him, but it's also something that's very…foreign…

Incredibly foreign.

There was also the fact that it would have been spent helping out Isabelle, who was someone that Dillon admittedly never really got to know very well, especially now that she was no longer an Assist. He wouldn't know how he would feel being constantly in her presence.

"Um…" Dillon finally mumbled after an uncertain silence, lowering his head and focusing his eyes on the mug in his claws. "I...don' know, ta be honest…"

For a brief second, a crestfallen look flashed across Hammer Bro's face, but it was quickly replaced with understanding. "It's fine. I know you're not too big on group stuff."

"Sorry to turn you down, Hammer." Midna said, floating down to the koopa's eye level. "I guess that kind of stuff isn't really up our allie."

"Now worries! I think I'll be fine spending time at the Mansion." Hammer Bro told her with a reassuring smile. "Besides, we'll be able to catch up at the gift exchange!"

"Not to worry. Riki look after Hammer. Make sure he have good time!" Riki piped up with reassurance blending in with his usual chipper tone.

Once bidding their friend good-bye, the group of five dispersed from the garage and went their separate ways within the Hotel. Hammer Bro and Riki ventured off to collect things from their rooms to take to the Mansion while Shadow, Midna, and Dillon went in search for another activity to occupy themselves with.

Well...Shadow and Midna were doing just that.

As the two walked down the hallway, conversing quietly between each other, Dillon lagged behind. He kept his eyes glued on his mug of coffee that was probably breeching lukewarm at this point. His head felt clouded with thoughts as he continued to dwell on Hammer Bro's request. Even though he was accompanied by Riki, the armadillo still felt a little bad that he wasn't going to spend his time at the Mansion without the three of them.

But...Hammer Bro didn't honestly seem bothered by it. Plus, it wasn't like the four haven't gone on to do their own separate things before without one another's company. So why is his mind still dwelling on it?

Dillon looked up from his coffee and directed his gaze to the walls along the hall. Both sides were decorated with glittering strings of lights that stretched far in both directions. The various red, green, and white glows that emitted from them reflected off the surface of the occasional ornament that hung from the ceiling.

It definitely wasn't an unfamiliar sight. The Assists always put up these simple decorations around the Hotel for the seasonal occasion.

So why did it feel so different?

Dillon blinked thoughtfully as he let his eyes drift. He didn't know why. Nothing really changed at the Hotel except for the new influx of Assists that joined with the Ultimate tournament.

The tournament that promoted Isabelle to a Smasher.

Perhaps that was it.

Isabelle always loved the holiday season. She would take it upon herself to help out with preparation for the holidays, whether it be decorating, planning gifts, or helping with any events that were to be held. The cheerful dog always added a certain mood to the Hotel's atmosphere at this time and now that she was no longer there, that mood was gone.

Even though Dillon didn't know her too well, her absence brought a change that he actually wasn't used to. It kind of put him off a little bit and he doesn't know how that could be amended…

Unless he went with Hammer Bro and Riki to the Smash Mansion.

Where they would be helping Isabelle for the holidays.

He would be accompanying his friend and be back in that familiar atmosphere so he could be at ease, thus quelling both feelings that were incessantly itching in his mind.

But what about his uncertainty? The Mansion would still be a new environment for him and he doesn't quite feel the same way toward the holidays like the other Assists and Smashers did. To be fairly honest though, he was a little intrigued about it.

Perhaps he could join Hammer Bro and Riki and help out so that he could also learn a little more about the holidays here in Smashville. Maybe so he could understand it a little more and so if would no longer be such a foreign topic to him.

"Dillon? You alright?"

Dillon was startled out of his thoughts by Midna's voice. He hadn't realized that he had stopped walking when he saw Midna and Shadow now further up ahead and looking back at him, confused and a little bit concerned. The twilight imp floated up in front of the armadillo.

"You feeling okay? You kind of zoned out," She said.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine," Dillon answered. He hesitated for a second then looked at his two friends. "I...think I changed my mind."

* * *

The elevator dinged and parted it's doors to reveal Hammer Bro and Riki stepping out, the former wearing a scarf with mittens and the latter wearing simply a little snow hat. Both were pulling the two sleds that held the box of ornaments and bags containing their respective belongings.

"Alright, now that we have everything," The koopa smiled brightly. "We just gotta head to the Mansion!"

"Riki so excited!" The Nopon chirped with a little hop. "Haven't seen roommate Issy in long time. Room felt so empty without her."

The two had approached the Hotel's main entrance but before they could push through, a voice called out to them.

"Hammer Bro, wait!"

Halting and turning around in surprise, the tapping of footsteps echoed from the stairs up ahead until a certain armadillo descended into view, holding his own little duffle bag from his shoulder. Dillon crossed the lobby and approached the two, facing the koopa fully.

"I made up my mind," He told him with a small grin. "I gonn' go with you to that Mansion."

Taken aback, Hammer Bro's eyes were wide as he let the words process, then were replaced with a bright glow as a smile grew on his beak.

"Great! But," His smile then dropped a little and was replaced with a questioning frown. "You seemed a little...I don't know, uncomfortable with it. Are you sure you want to?"

Dillon shrugged and lowered his eyes. "Yeah, a lil'...But...I guess since I'm never too invested with the holidays, I am a lil' curious about it. I figured this would help me understand a lil' more."

Hammer Bro considered his answer and let the smile grow back. "Well, glad to hear about that! I promise that you won't hate it."

Dillon let out an amused snort. "I'll take yer word for it."

With that, the three Assists decided to push through the Hotel's doors and out into the snowy landscape of the property. Despite the falling flakes and the wind biting at their noses, continued on the shoveled-out path and embarked on their walk to the Smash Mansion.

* * *

**And that wraps it up! **

**Some things to say: I've tried to imitate Riki's usual speech pattern and a southern accent into Dillon's dialogue. I don't know how well I did so I apologize if it comes off a little weird! **

**Welp, hope you guys had a good read and I'll see you all with the next chapter! **


End file.
